Key Information on Submitting a Claim to the Register of Damage for Ukraine – Category A3.2: “Damage or Destruction of Non‑Residential Immovable Property”

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, large-scale destruction of both residential and non-residential buildings has been recorded across the territory of Ukraine. This makes the issue of receiving compensation for damaged or destroyed non-residential immovable property just as urgent and complex as that for housing. 

While the compensation mechanism for damaged or destroyed housing is mostly regulated by the national eRestoration programme, the issue of damaged or destroyed non-residential immovable property had remained open at both the national and international levels until recently. 

However, the situation changed in May 2023, when the Council of Europe established the Register of Damage for Ukraine (hereinafter “the Register”), which is tasked with collecting claims and supporting evidence related to damage, loss, or harm caused as a result of the war. This data will be used in the future to document the scope and consequences of the full-scale invasion and to provide the basis for compensation (reparations). Information about the mandate and functions of the Register can be found here. 

The Register includes several core categories of claims covering different types of damage and harm caused to the State of Ukraine, persons and legal entities as a result of the war. These include loss of life, bodily injury, conflict-related sexual violence, torture, arbitrary detention, forced labour, forced displacement, damage or destruction of residential and non-residential immovable property, as well as other material and non-material losses or damage. More information about open claim categories is available here. 

Let us examine the claim in Category A3.2 of the Register: “Damage or Destruction of Non-Residential Immovable Property.” 

This category is intended for individuals who are owners or co-owners of non-residential immovable property located on the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, including its territorial waters, that was damaged or destroyed on or after 24 February 2022, due to internationally wrongful acts by the Russian Federation in or against Ukraine. 

Examples of such property may include office buildings, garages or parking spaces, warehouse buildings or premises, and any other non-residential property that is not housing or a place of residence. 

Who can submit a claim under Category A3.2 of the Register? 

Citizens (natural persons) – owners or co-owners of non-residential immovable property in Ukraine, i.e. property that is not an apartment, house or other place of residence, and which was damaged or destroyed as a result of the full-scale invasion starting from 24 February 2022. 

Please note that a separate claim must be submitted: 

• By each co-owner; 
• For each individual property. 

What types of damage are subject to compensation? 

• Full value of the property – if it was destroyed. 
• Repair or restoration costs – if the property was damaged. 

Please note that this category does not cover other types of damage, such as lost income. 

How to prepare for submitting a claim? 

Check ownership confirmation: 

• If your ownership is correctly recorded in the State Register of Property Rights (DRPR), this information will be automatically retrieved during the submission of the claim. 
• If your ownership is missing or contains inaccuracies or errors in the DRPR, you should additionally prepare your ownership documents and contact a registrar to update the data in the DRPR. 
• In this case, when submitting your claim, you must upload the refusal letter from the registrar to update the DRPR and the available ownership documents in scanned form. 

Please note that the Register accepts any evidence of ownership, including (but not limited to): 

• Court decision recognizing the ownership; 
• Ownership documents issued before the State Register of Rights began operating; 
• Inheritance certificate, sale and purchase agreement, donation or exchange deed; 
• Extracts from the Register of Transactions issued by a notary; 
• Ownership certificate or documents from local technical inventory bureaus (BTIs); 
• Technical passports of the property; 
• Documents from local authorities confirming ownership; 
• Tax documentation; 
• Written statements from neighbors, housing department managers, housing cooperatives or other persons who can confirm the ownership. 

Prepare evidence of damage/destruction of the property, its value or repair costs: 

• Police or emergency service reports, photographs, witness statements, etc.; 
• Repair-related documents (if applicable); 
• Contracts and service acceptance acts, receipts, invoices, repair photographs, etc.; 
• Evidence of the property’s value before damage or destruction. 

Please note that the Register provides answers to frequently asked questions for all categories of claims. More about Category A3.2 can be found here. 

How to submit a claim? 

• Register or log in to your citizen profile on the Diia portal at diia.gov.ua using your Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) or Diia.Signature. 

Please note that both QES and Diia.Signature are accepted forms of authentication. 

• Select Category A3.2. 
• Fill in the form, upload your documents, and sign the claim using QES or Diia.Signature. 
• Your claim is automatically submitted to the Register, and a notification will be sent to your email address. 



After submission 

• Monitor the status of your claim via your Diia personal account. 
• Once the Compensation Commission is created, you will be informed about the decision and the amount of potential compensation. 

Important to understand: 

The Register does not assess or review the claims on their merits, does not determine the amount of damages, and does not grant any payments. These will be the functions of a future international compensation mechanism, the creation of which is already underway. The Register is the first step toward that mechanism and the future receipt of reparations. Work is already underway to establish both the compensation mechanism and the compensation commission. 

In case you have questions or need a consultation regarding claim submission to the Register, you you can book an online session with a lawyer here.

This informational material was created within the framework of a project implemented by Charitable Foundation “Caritas Kharkiv” in cooperation with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and funded by the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the DRC. Neither the European Commission nor the DRC can be held responsible for the content of this material.